Wheels on Zach's Philly street cruiser?

Be specific...

 

?5 lug/bolt pattern on a Mini?

 

I think they may be these ->http://www.capitalwheels.com/store/c...40&cat=&page=5

 

they are late 80 early 90 Mercede wheels

 

Very similar to the ones I had on my late '80's MB 190E.

More specific than that I can't muster.

 

From the 300 series.

 

Those would of been 15 inch and his look bigger IMO

 

If you blow up the image, you can clearly see the MB star. I'll bet those bad boys weigh a ton!

 

Close, but I think they're the 15" x 7" from the mid 80's (can't place the year exactly) 190E 2.3 16V.
They actually look really good.

 

Those look FANTASTIC but need new center caps...

 

Nice guessing, folks!

 

Capital wheel has a full selection of those - see bottom half of attached page
http://www.capitalwheels.com/store/c...tegory=&page=5

I have the BMW equivalent of them on a E34 commonly known as "bottle caps"

 

So are they on the car for real or only in Photo-shop?

 

I would call those horrible

 

They are for real: he has an 4 to 5-lug adapter kit.

 

That's the spirit!

I think they look cool.

 

4-5 adaptor...And I get nervous running my 20mm spacers. Our local high end wheel and tire place won't work on your car if you have bolt adaptors.

 

Hey, with that mod you would not want to go fast, people might not notice it.

 

The bold adapters do pose a *slightly* increased risk: anytime you are more than doubling the fasteners to your wheels, there's a greater risk of error. It's inherently no more risky than 20mm spacers, the determining factor is quality of fasteners and quality of installation.

You also put different loads on the wheel bearings and can cause alignment issues. Judging from your sig, you're an autocrosser. This mod would not be recommended for autocrossers or track hounds who are pushing cars to their limits. I wouldn't recommend 20mm spacers for autocross either: not only is there a slight safety risk, alignment/bump steer compromise, but you also are potentially changing classes that you can run in. It's wouldn't be worth it if you gained a tenth of a second but were bumped into a class that is two seconds faster.

This car is not used for that. He is a showcar kind of guy, and really likes the look. I've worked on the car, and test driven it, and deemed it safe for his uses. I like the look: it's really clean. Again, to each their own. I'm not a big fan of 20 rubber ducks on the dash board, but I don't begrudge those who do. For them, it's fun, and I'm supportive of that.

 

I disagree, at least in theory.

Wait, that sounds stupid.

What I mean is that it depends on the exact design of the adapters, which is in large part determined by the bolt spacing of the original and new pattern. If they have very similar spacing, then you wind up with one or two holes and fasteners that are very close together, with very little meat between them. And that is something that poses a noticeably increased risk.

Spacers either just have the holes straight through (so you use longer lug bolts or studs) or have the bolt pattern offset by one-half of the bolt spacing, which leaves plenty of meat.

If the five-lug pattern is a lot wider than the four-lug one, or vice-versa, then you can have a lot of meat between all of the bolts.

I also happen to think that one of the best parts of MINI ownership is not having to slow down for corners--so if something is unsafe for autoX use, I probably don't want it on my car.

That said, a cruise and show car may not have any problem with these adapters. But I don't think they are suitable for a daily driver--and I strongly feel that they pose more risk than bolt-on spacers.

 

Your theory that the amount of 'meat' in an adapter constitutes the determining factor in whether it is safe assumes that the adapter thickness from bore to bore ('meat') is in fact the weak link in the suspension. That's no a safe assumption. Adapter material strength, stud material, and quality of installation would have to be known before you could claim a 'noticeably increased risk'.

Having seen all kinds of hook-and-krook wheel and suspension modifications in my years as an automotive professional, the kit that's on the above car poses less of a risk than other wheel setups, like some stud conversions kits, certain wheel spacers, and for that matter the biggest offender, improperly torqued lug bolts. I appreciate that the above wheel conversion isn't for everyone, that's what makes this hobby fun. a blanket statement that it's unsafe might sound good, but you need to have more information.